Michigan

[Olive Hill]

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It sounds like a great way to spend the day!

If you were closer and I thought she'd stay broody through a move I'd let you take her and use her just to get her off my darn goose eggs. I really care about those hatching and she may be messing with my results.

 

[keyt1969]

Has anyone shipped eggs before? I suddenly have quite a few relatives wanting to buy eggs. Aric is researching it as I type this but just wondering if anyone has any ideas or experiences? I need to start getting them out of here!!

 

[keyt1969]

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I think you're right about the orpingtons. I have 2 week olds and they look like them bigger. I love my orpingtons. They are so quiet and sweet and I read that they are gentle, great in cold weather and nice layers. I have 6 of them plus 6 month old wyandottes and 6 month old what I think are newhampshire reds. I should be sitting pretty in eggs (I'm overloaded now!!) later this summer!!

 

[lindah2226]

Had to laugh out loud to think of Olive's hen squashed up against the goose. I love this site...feel like I know you guys.

 

[Olive Hill]

Keyt -- They sell "foam by the yard" at Joann's. You can buy the thick stuff, cut egg shaped holes halfway into it, put one piece on the bottom of your box, place the eggs in the little egg nests you cut, put another piece on top (with identical egg holes cut to accommodate the top half of the eggs) and they won't budge in transit. But I'm not sure it'd be an economically viable option just to ship some eating eggs to family.

Have you tried putting a sign up front to sell them? I've also given out free samples in the past. Every free dozen eggs I've ever handed out has resulted in a 2+ dozen weekly regular customer.

Another thing you can do is freeze the eggs for your own use later, say if the hens slow down next winter. Put however many eggs you want to freeze in a dish, scramble them up, pour them in ice cubes and pop them in the freezer. Once frozen you can pop the cubes out and store them in a gallon ziploc in the freezer until ready to use. Just remember how many eggs you scrambled and how many ice cubes it made so you know how many cubes equals one egg. Ice cube trays differ in size so you'll need to have an idea. Mine are two cubes to every one egg, for instance. They work great for baking, scrambled eggs, etc.

And of course then there are egg heavy recipes. You can make your own mayo, use up eggs and save a little money on groceries all at the same time. Plus once you go homemade mayo you won't go back. LOL!

Pickled eggs are a favorite of my DH and oldest DD and never last long around here, but it does preserve the eggs for a bit longer. And it's a great thing to do with those eggs that are a couple weeks old and you want them out of the rotation since the older eggs peel better after boiling.

While you're at it you could also boil up extra for egg salad. Egg salad sandwiches make quick and easy lunches. I boil up enough for a week all at once and then just store the salad in the fridge in a resealable dish.

Even a small custard pie calls for 4+ eggs. Super simple to make even though the end result seems so indulgent and a great way to use up eggs.

You can use lean meats and use up some eggs in those recipes too. Ground venison, turkey, chicken, etc doesn't stick together great on its own, but you can add egg and make hamburgers, meat loaf, meat balls, etc. Hidden egg uses! LOL!

 

[Mish]

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I just shipped some eggs to NY. It cost about $9 - expensive eating eggs. Are you shipping as hatching or eating eggs?

 

[A2SciTeach]

Sunshine and April!

Like Opa, I too am experiencing a shortage of eggs, still getting one every other day from the remaining S.Sussex, but the others are freeloading. We're going to set up a bachelor pad for Buck and Kellog, the two roosters and see if the girls do better without all that testosterone in the hen house. The garden is really muddy, unfortunately - I have a lot of started plants that need a lot more space. I hope everyone has a productive and joy filled day today. Here's a picture I took a couple of weeks ago of my mini-killer dachshund with some of the started veggies. [

 

[outdoor junkie]

Thats a cool pic A2, I also cannot wait to get the garden in. But I will patiently wait until the end of May, to avoid the frost. looks like your dog is ready for some fresh veggies too.

 

[keyt1969]

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WOW, that's a wealth of information there! Thanks so much!

I wish we could freeze stuff, but we have a very old fridge with a very small freezer. We barely have enough room for food much less frozen anything like ice cubes or anything else. We've been trying to find a fridge no one wants. We saw them all the time in the free section of craigslist, but now that we need one we haven't seen one! lol I wish those places that rent them weren't so expensive then we could have a new one and retire the one we have now to use for eggs and whatever else.

Aric is going to make a sign to put out front. There's only one other person nearby that has chickens, but only a few for personal use. We're giving away some today just to get them out of here!

I just wish I could get some fertile ones. I think I need to take the ones my poor little black silkie is sitting on and scramble them up for the chickens.

A2, that is such a cute picture!

 

[Olive Hill]

A bit of a question for Jen and Vicki and anyone else that knows rabbits. My youngest daughter's rabbit is losing weight and just won't put it back on. I can feel her bones at this point and I am stumped as to what it might be. She's an intact female Holland Lop, has always lived inside, has a roomy cage with litter box and is let out to play on my DD's floor on a daily basis. She has free choice rabbit pellets in a dish. She doesn't go through them as quickly as my other daughter's rabbit of about the same size, but she is eating and seems about normal for her. Fresh water changed daily available 24/7. She is active, alert, friendly, acting completely normal. Has a good appetite for the treats she gets -- fresh spinach, carrots, etc. She is urinating and defecating normally, lots of it and all normal shape, size, etc. She has not been outside on the ground. She does not have direct contact with other animals. The only animal that she has any contact at all with is one of my dogs who occasionally sneaks into my DD's bedroom and sleeps on the floor next to her cage. It's not often and he's not in there when she is out and about. It also does not seem to stress her and she runs over and sniffs at him at the cage, goes about her usual bunny stuff, etc when he is in there, doesn't cower in the corner or anything and he basically ignores her. He just wants to sleep on the rug.

When she is out to play she is active, runs around, plays, etc. Just the weight is the only issue I can see...

I do not know how old this rabbit is. We are her third family to my knowledge. She was a pet to some little girls who eventually outgrew her, she was then owned by a friend of mine that used her for her photography business as she has an excellent temperament -- she owned her for a couple of years before giving her to us because she has no kids and felt bad that the rabbit didn't get a lot of play time or attention with just her and her husband. We've had her a little less than a year now. So she is I would say 5+ at the least but potentially more like 8, 9... 10???

The other rabbit in the house that is eating the same feed, same basic cage setup, etc is fat as can be.

I've been doing some reading and am running into conflicting opinions on parasites -- most say pin worms are the only real problem with rabbits? and that if you don't see them there is no reason to treat. I see no evidence of them. And honestly am perplexed as to where she would have gotten them anyway.

Cocci is the other suggestion I'm seeing on rabbit boards/sites for unexplained weight loss.

Thoughts??? She has lost this weight in the past couple of months.